OCR04895 - *YES* Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, DKC1 & 2 "20,000 Bananas Under the Sea"

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Artist Name: jnWake

As usual, another DoD competition gone means another submission by me (wonder how long I can keep it up). Anyway, the monthly theme was "David Wise" so I took the chance to cover something from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, one of my favorite games and soundtracks. My picked source was "Amiss Abyss", one of the game's water levels which, as is Wise's tradition, features a beautiful atmospheric theme. For my own take, I decided to keep the atmospheric and pretty side, so I went with a chill approach. I also summoned my "we have Emunator at home" powers to add some sound design flourishes, as I sadly didn't have enough time to actually recruit Emunator and collaborate again. In any case, I'm very happy with the final product, which ranked #8 in a very stacked month.

Now, time for a breakdown:

0:00-0:11: Piano intro, the melody's taken from the strings at 0:26 in the source. It's kind of a random background element in the original but I made it a central element of the arrangement for some reason.

0:12-0:20: Atmospheric-ish build-up. Naturally, there's an Aquatic Ambiance cameo here with the arpeggio and the bass (I used the actual soundfonts from the game for this).

0:21-0:53: My take of the first main melody from the source (begins at 0:09). Main change is a different chord progression to sound a tad more melancholic.

0:54-1:10: Second main melody from the source (begins at 0:25), main change is that I inserted a repetition.

1:11-1:26: Similar to the 0:12 section, but now also features a Lockjaw's Saga cameo.

1:27-1:52: Third (at 0:43) and fourth (1:01) main melodies from the source. Main change is layering them together instead of one being just after the other. Just like in the original here, the fourth melody is played by an accordeon-ish sample which is also taken from the DKC soundfont!

1:52-2:33: Fifth main melody (at 1:17) from the source on piano. Some more Lockjaw's and Ambiance in here as well. At 2:17 we get a variation of the same melody on synth and later on strings.

2:34-3:11: First, a repeat of 0:54-1:10 and then a variation of the fourth main melody featuring many key changes.

3:12-end: Sixth and final melody (at 1:48) from the source, first on piano and then on synths. Section at 3:36 is a variation of the ending of this melody, once again featuring many rising key changes and another Ambiance cameo to end. 3:58 reprises the atmospheric build-ups from earlier in the track to close.

Hope you enjoy!

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Games & Sources

Source: Amiss Abyss

[prophetik music ⚖️]

this original is fantastic! i am gonna listen to this whole soundtrack now.

opens with what larry will call 'stilted piano' that fits the track style really well. nice work throwing in the AA cameo, that's a clever overlap. the feel at 0:12 and then 0:20 is so good, i love the out-of-time arp. i think the chord changes really fit it well, and i really like the bass tone also. the feel steps it up at 0:54 as well, i think the faster feel fits this melodic section well. drums are a bit autopilot here.

there's another bit of a break before we get the next melodic section. the DKC soundfont choice is fun, although the accordian tone is a bit shrill and loud here. i do like the feel a lot, and the subsequent break at 1:52. there's some fun rhythmic elements in here, and bit of a shift towards the funky feel as the bass steps it up a bit at 2:17 alongside the key change. 

there's a recap section at 2:34 and then a ton of woodshedding in the chords as jnWake discovered the circle of fifths around this time. another break at 3:12 and then some more trucking through melodic material. this section was a little less complex from a backing element perspective, which is kind of a different feel from what we've seen throughout. 4:00 brings back the AA reference, and there's some noodles to let us down softly. the track ends on a sustain and it's done.

if it's not obvious, i loved the direction of this track. tons of twists and harmonic turns, lots of shifts in feel, and a lot of creativity. track sounds great and i'm never fighting the sound design (outside of that one soundfont that's a bit shrill). excellent work.

 

 

YES

[Emunator ⚖️]

Dropping a quick vote on this because I've listened to the original a million times, because it's awesome, and I've listened to this remix a million times since its DoD debut, because it's awesome, too.

The first 20 seconds of this set the stage for a rug pull, of sorts - everything starts off rather gridlocked and desolate, but then you suddenly pull the lid off and everything feels so alive and vibrant. I'm instantly transported from the lonely depths of the open ocean to a lush coral reef, overflowing with color and texture and activity. From floor to ceiling, you've breathed life into every synth lead line, backing arpeggio, and even the drum and bass tracks bring their own personality to the mix. It feels like a bags of classic jnWake tricks - I'm not necessarily hearing anything that I've never heard in one of his arrangements before (I cracked up when prophetik described 2:34 as "jnWake discovering the circle of fifths") but you picked an absolutely perfect source to bring them all to the table for, and executed flawlessly.

YES

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Why am I being accused of calling the intro stilted in advance? :-PPPP It's fine, it's clearly stylized and well-produced; everything can work in context.

Track definitely opens up more at :53 with that lead. Always love "Aquatic Ambiance" and DKC2 cameos. IMO, the mixing feels like it's missing some sharpness/clarity, though it's nothing dinging this. Loved the comping-style shift at 2:10, and of course dig the FM bassline. Really great treatment of "Amiss Abyss". Ooh, another great style change at 3:11 and HERE COME THE BIRBS for a cameo! More "Aquatic Ambiance" weave-ins as well for a classy outro, along with instrumentation and timing that felt reminiscent of the classic DKC instrumentation. Loads of good ideas here, Wake! :-)

YES